Johnny Depp Issues An Apology For His ‘Bad Joke’ About The Assassination Of President Trump

Johnny Depp has issued an official apology about his controversial statements regarding the potential assassination of President Donald Trump by an actor, calling it a “bad joke.” In an exclusive statement to People magazine, the embattled Pirates of the Caribbean actor said, “I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump.” What’s more, he explained, “[i]t did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone.” It comes on the heels of the White House’s official response courtesy of Kellyanne Conway, who called it “no laughing matter.”

During a Thursday night appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in England, where he was introducing a screening of his 2004 film The Libertine, Depp mentioned his belief that Trump needed “help” while asking the crowd, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” When the crowd cheered at the implied reference to John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, Depp added, “I want to clarify, I’m not an actor. I lie for a living.”

Conway, who spoke with the Washington Post about the matter Friday morning, called Depp a “nut job” and condemned his statements. “These things are real,” she told the paper while suggesting his “vile” attempt at a joke was “not a slip of the tongue.” Meanwhile, an official White House statement declared, “President Trump has condemned violence in all forms and it’s sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead. I hope that some of Mr. Depp’s colleagues will speak out against this type of rhetoric as strongly as they would if his comments were directed to a Democrat elected official.”